The story of Lille Herstrand
At the far edge of Meløya, a gravel road away from the harbour, lies Lille Herstrand — a small coastal smallholding with a long history and a quiet future.
Hilmar and Edvarda
Hilmar and Edvarda bought the property and lived in Otervær. At Lille Herstrand they dried cliff-fish on the rocks that have since borne the name Klippfiskbergan, and Hilmar had a small drying house where he made rekling — halibut dried his own way — which was sold as far away as Britain. They kept one cow, and each year a bull was carried across Hågen through a narrow pass in the mountain so she could calve. People from the other islands came here and planted potatoes in the kelp that washed ashore in great amounts.
Why Tukthuset?
The place is called Tukthuset, and the name carries a history. When people from the smaller surrounding islands were forced to move in to the main island of Meløya, they had to build up Tukthuset. That is why most of the houses here were raised by hands that originally belonged to the islands further out.
More recent times
The Edvarda house burned down in 2016/17, and a new house was raised on the same foundations. In 2025 Vebjørn and Liv built the cabin — Liv with architecture studies behind her.
The place today
Today Lille Herstrand holds a Nordland house with room for twelve, the cabin with six beds for rent, a boathouse with a sauna facing the mountains, northern lights and midnight sun, and the boat Kaasbøll 760 for trips and sea fishing.
Old pictures
Pictures from Lille Herstrand, then and now.
